Noida: The labour department has initiated proceedings against 203 contractors and outsourcing agencies who supply workforce to industries in the city for violations of Contract Labour Act, including withholding wages, bonuses and overtime pay.Labour department officials said while contractors were ordered to disburse the total corpus of Rs 1.16 crore that was found to have been denied to workers, they would also face blacklisting and suspension of licences. Offences under Contract Labour Act are punishable by up to three months in prison. It wasn’t clear if the labour department was also getting cases filed against the contractors.“We found serious violations by contractors and agencies engaging workers at these factories. In some cases, workers were made to do overtime but were not paid the sum due. In others, salaries and bonuses were not cleared. These grievances triggered the protests that led to heavy damage,” additional labour commissioner Rakesh Dwivedi said, adding notices were served to the contractors.The findings are the result of a probe that began after the April 13 industrial workers’ protest for higher wages that witnessed largescale vandalism. Sources said 24 factories and industrial units suffered extensive damage during the unrest when protesters hurled stones and set vehicles on fire.The role of contractors whose workers were allegedly involved in the vandalism is also under investigation, the commissioner said.Officials clarified that no deductions other than EPF and ESI are allowed from wages, and any additional adjustment is illegal. Principal employers, too, are accountable if contractors delay or underpay wages under provisions of the Act.Engagement of contractual workers happens under legal provisions of Contract Labour Act and applies to any contractor who employs 20 or more personnel for a period of one year.According to the Act, the private company that the contractor provides workers to becomes the ‘principal employer’. The principal employer notifies the contractor’s engagement and issues a form for registration of the contractor with the state govt.A registration certificate to a contractor is issued by govt on submission of form V on the Nivesh Mitra portal, in which it gives details about nature of work, number of workers, duration of work and compliance responsibilities. Under the Act, the contractor is responsible for disbursal of wages, development of canteen, restroom, drinking water and toilets at the workplace. The principal employer must provide these if the contractor cannot but can recover expenses from the contractor.The labour department can conduct inspections, check facilities, payment records and compliance.Some contractors said blaming them for Monday’s violent protests was wrong. Dharmendra Nagar of Prachi Enterprises said it was still unclear whether those involved in Monday’s violence were contractual workers or company staff. “Ensuring peaceful functioning of industrial units is a collective responsibility. Holding only contractors responsible may not be fair,” he said.Lalit Kumar of Lions Workforce made a similar point. “Such incidents depend on many workplace factors, including work culture, salary payments and medical coverage. If a worker commits an offence months or years after placement, the agency alone cannot be blamed,” he said.The state govt, meanwhile, notified revised minimum monthly wages in Noida and Ghaziabad. It announced a 21% raise with effect from April 1 — from Rs 11,313 to Rs 13,690 for unskilled workers, Rs 12,445 to Rs 15,059 for semi-skilled workers, and Rs 13,940 to Rs 16,668 for skilled workers — after the protest. The revised rates are interim. Final wages are likely to be fixed next month after the wage board’s recommendations.
